LTI Lissajous explanation document

You might also note that hardly anybody uses Lissajous patterns for anything but artsy entertainment. It's much easier to time zero crossings and scale directly to phase angle.

John

That's an accurate statement (in my experience). The last time I saw a lissajous image was when I was a kid (30+ years ago). I tore apart an old tv and hooked my stereo's amplifier outputs to the horizontal and vertical deflection coils. I used to watch that thing for hours.

Bob

I appreciate that, and so do the students, but the laboratory experience (which is out of my hands) is pedagogical. It's not entirely about training in modern methods. For sophomores in college, there's plenty of value in this exercise (which is prefixed by plenty of "In the old days, before engineers knew how to add, . . ." so that I don't feel disingenuous). The equipment is there as a vehicle for education; the training is just bonus, and there will be plenty of modern training.

I haven't seen many good references on Lissajous figures for this application, and those that I've found are either inaccessible to sophomores or lack too few details to be useful. I'm trying to fill that gap a little with that document, and I thought a few people might be interested.